Happy New Year, now let’s get to work.

OK, the holidays are officially over. No more excuses: it’s time to make good on your 2009 New Year’s resolution. If you’ve ever promised yourself that you were going to get in shape and failed, I want you to forget about that. This year you will succeed, but you need to start believing in yourself right now.

Having made a successful major transformation myself, I know what it takes to make it happen. Before I talk about some of the things you need to do, I want you to pause for a moment right now and picture yourself with your ideal body relaxed and 100% confident on a crowded beach. Don’t stop there: visualize yourself in all kinds of situations with your new body. There is no shame in doing this. Visualization is a powerful technique that really works. When I first started my transformation I visualized myself outside washing the car and mowing the lawn with no shirt on, ripped and with six-pack abs. Whenever I felt like skipping a workout or going off my diet, I replayed these powerful scenes in my mind. Six months after I started, I’d lost over 55 pounds of fat and I had a six-pack for the first time in my life. I can’t describe what it felt like the first time I lived out these visualizations in real life. All it took was six months of hard work and dedication. Check out my monthly, weekly or even daily pictures (near the bottom of the page) to see what I accomplished in a relatively short period of time. You can do it, too.

Picturing yourself in your new body is important, but it’s obviously not enough. You need knowledge and you need a plan. Without a plan your new body is just a fantasy. With a plan it’s an obtainable goal. Maybe you’ve already done your homework and know exactly what you need to do; if so, then great! If you do not have a plan, then you need to come up with one right away. Here are some things I think everyone who wants to make a transformation should do:

SET A GOAL OR GOALS. Figure out exactly what you want to accomplish and write it down. Short term goals and long term goals are both very important. Do not skip this step! One of the best places to express your goal is in “public”. Tell everyone you know what you are doing. I encourage you to create a free account on the forum and start a journal or blog. Get involved with our friendly community. Make friends, learn, ask questions and get inspired!

HAVE A PLAN. You’ve got the desire and the goal, so now what you need to do is come up with a plan that will allow you to get there. Start educating yourself by reading the “sticky” threads in the Beginner’s forum (the threads that are “stuck” at the very top). Feel free to check out my own detailed food logs, my training routines, my photographs, and daily news archives. Come up with your own meal plans and a training programs. The JSF community can help you tweak your plans and answer any questions you might have, so please feel free to post if you are confused about something.

EXECUTE THE PLAN. Ah, this is the hard part. Are you ready to dig deep? What you are doing is not easy; your inner strength and character will be tested. Life throws things at us every day that separate those who are truly committed from those who are not. Those who refuse to make excuses and execute their plans with dedication and consistency will be successful – this is a fact. Take it one day at a time, and don’t let negative thoughts enter your mind. Keep picturing yourself in your new body and remain focused like a laser on your goals.

Happy New Year, everyone! Now, let’s get to work!

I shot some video footage after my workout Friday evening, and decided to edit it into a sort of JSF promotional video by adding text, photographs and music. I posted the video in my media journal here. I hope you enjoy it! The video is also on my Youtube channel, so please feel free to post it around and spread the word – let’s help as many people as we can reach their fitness goals in 2009!

Sponsored Links

John Stone Fitness is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.